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Various definitions of the term world language have been proposed; there is no general consensus about which one to use. [4] [5]One definition proffered by Congolese linguist Salikoko Mufwene is "languages spoken as vernaculars or as lingua francas outside their homelands and by populations other than those ethnically or nationally associated with them".
The global language system is the "ingenious pattern of connections between language groups". [1] Dutch sociologist Abram de Swaan developed this theory in 2001 in his book Words of the World: The Global Language System and according to him, "the multilingual connections between language groups do not occur haphazardly, but, on the contrary, they constitute a surprisingly strong and efficient ...
Another study found that the percentage of each language used at each United Nations meeting in 2010 was distributed as follows: English (98%), French (87%), Spanish (34%), Russian (10%), Arabic (7%), and Chinese (3%). [3] The following is a list of major international and inter-governmental organizations.
Researchers accept that there are multiple categories of language, even as they often disagree on the explicit number of those categories. De Swaan's analysis of the world language system, which is arguably the most common analysis, distinguishes between five different types of languages, one of which is "English as global lingua franca. [2]"
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Braj Kachru divides the use of English into three concentric circles. [8]The inner circle is the traditional base of English and includes countries such as the United Kingdom and Ireland and the anglophone populations of the former British colonies of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and various islands of the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean.
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The official languages of the United Nations are the six languages used in United Nations (UN) meetings and in which the UN writes all its official documents. [1]Five languages were chosen in 1946 as official languages around when the United Nations was founded: Chinese, [2] English (British English with Oxford spelling), [3] French, Russian, and Spanish.